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The Ukrainian fighters blocked at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol surrender without any conditions, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Dmitriy Polyansky said. The Russian military officials are yet to comment if the exchange of Ukrainian militants is possible. Meanwhile, Kiev continuesly claims that the servicemen will be exchanged. Despite all the warcrimes the nationalists committed in Eastern Ukraine, including in the city of Mariupol.
Over the past day, 771 more militants of the nationalist Azov unit surrendered at the blocked Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol. A total of 1,730 militants have surrendered since May 16, including 80 wounded. All those in need of inpatient treatment receive assistance in medical institutions of the Donetsk People’s Republic in Novoazovsk and Donetsk.
The head of the DPR Denis Pushilin claimed that more than half of the militants have already left Azovstal.
On the other side, the Kiev regimes continues attempts to present the surrender as a “humanitarian operation” carried out by the Ukrainian military.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recorded a video address in which he explained the reasons for the surrender of the Azov regiment. In the video, Zelensky stated that he wanted to protect the people and the country, and that today’s surrender of the Ukrainian military was a strategic move. He stated,
“It’s not an easy day. But this day, like all the others, is also about keeping our country and our people safe. Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military – AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine), intelligence, negotiating team, ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and the UN (United Nations), we hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle.”
On May 18, Zelensky lied again that the surrender was a humanitarian mission overseen by the Ukrainian military and intelligence officers:
The lies were quickly revealed.
The United Nations did not take part in the removal of the Ukrainian military from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol. This was announced on Wednesday at the office of the UN Secretary-General.
“As I understand, this [the evacuation of the Ukrainian military] was the result of an agreement between the two sides. We did not participate in this,” said the official representative of the Secretary General of the organization, Stephane Dujarric.
On May 19,the Russian military confirmed that the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Ukrainian negotiation group were allowed to visit the surrendered Ukrainian militants and assess the conditions of their detention. The delegation came on May 18, two das after the surrender of the first group from Azovstal. The evacuation was headed by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation.
” On May 18, an important event was held as part of the withdrawal of the Azovstal garrison. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Ukrainian negotiating group assessed the conditions of detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war in medical institutions of the DPR and in a specially equipped camp, the protection of which was instructed to organize the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian side was represented by People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation Alexander Ivanovich Kovalev who arrived from Kiev.
At the beginning, the delegation visited the 15th hospital of the city of Donetsk, which housed seriously wounded prisoners of war who had been taken out of Azovstal days earlier. No one hid anything from the guests. Representatives of the Ukrainian side and the Red Cross were shown the wards where the wounded were housed and given the opportunity to communicate with them.
– It’s all right, said the Ukrainian soldier.
After visiting the hospital, the delegation went to a camp for the Ukrainian military who had preserved their health. It was organized in Yelenovka in accordance to all the requirements of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk previously offered to place the surrendered in the city of Energodar in the Zaporozhye region, which is under the control of Russia. But she was refused for a number of objective reasons, primarily related to security.
Everything was officially organized: approvals, work calls, a short briefing from the head of the institution and verification of documents. Then everything happened according to a pre-approved plan.
Communication with the contingent:
– I say again, your goal is to survive. Your loved ones are waiting for you at home.
Inspection of places of detention. The Ukrainian negotiators were convinced of the compliance of the Russian side with the agreements reached during the negotiations. They paid attention to the absence of bars on the windows in residential premises.
– Alexander Ivanovich, how do you assess what you saw?
– If we take into account that these are front-line conditions, that only a day has passed, then everything was done quickly, I know that it was done at night. It’s better that people themselves say. They say that they have no complaints.
The delegation visited the accommodation of both men and women. They talked, made sure that no one tortured the prisoners, that no one mocked them. They are fed, treated, and provided with everything they need.
– How do you assess the results of this joint inspection with the Red Cross?
– I think the Red Cross will comment on it for its part. I know how this mission was done. It was very hard. There was a lot of effort on all sides to reach a compromise. I know that during the day everything necessary was delivered here: sleeping accessories, everything to receive people in normal conditions. What we saw today, obviously, everything that was promised was done. Special attention should be paid to the fact that the doctors did a lot of work on the rehabilitation of our wounded during the day.
The successful operation took place thanks to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation. It was provided by Russian servicemen. On May 19, the release of prisoners of war in Azovstal will continue, which means that the visit of the delegation was completed successfully.”
The blockade of the Azov fighters was indeed a strategic maneuver of the Ukrainian military command, since the AFU would be able to regroup on the fronts and distribute its forces, while significant Russian forces were involved in the storming of the facilities. On the other hand, the fall of the Ukrainian fortress revealed the bloody tactics of the AFU military command and harmed the morale of the Ukrainian military. For the Russian Federation, this is an important milestone at this stage of the war. The fall of Azovstal means the complete control of Mariupol by Russian forces.
